Strand handling apparatus and a method of handling strands



Jan. 22, 1946. FRANZ I 2,393,243

STRAND HANDLING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF HANDLING STRANDS Filed Oct. 6, 1943 Fl 6. I

/0 o s fs A4 I I N- r N M FIG. 3 3 0 30 3 0 30 3 0 A. 4 I I a q n a 0 F LE lu l I 4 I2 I a/ a/ a/ as FIG. 4

INVENTOP 5.5. FRANZ er A T TOPNEY Passed-n n, 194s Maroon 0F HANDLING'BTRANDS Irwin It. Frans, CranIord, ,N. 1., neither to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New

York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 0,1043, Serial No." 505,132

This invention relates tostrandhanm} apperatus and amethod or'handlingstrandsgand to amethod of and anal-reuse.-

ment {or imposing a delicatelycontrol'lable tension oi adjustably' constantjvalue upon aiongitue' dinally-moyvingstrand. 1" Devices to impose controllable-tension 'onja v strand being advaneed'longitudinaily'are at least as old as thearts of spinning and weavinsgas evidenced by the prehistoric spinning whorls of weight. In more moderntimes devices for a'pplieddirectiy to the strand itseli orby causing .the strand to drive a' sheave, roll' or theilike whichin turn is retarded by some form or fric: tion brake. Such devices are entirely satisfactory in a great number of cases. However, they do suiier from one common. diiilcultywhich may render them insuiiiciently satisfactory in some instances. Friction is a phenomenon whose exact nature and true laws are notat present this have generally means to v resist the advance or the strand by friction, either i mens wi the invention;

, 1's Claims. (c ne-.454)

.. fOther-obiects-and parts kin. the several figures, and in which is a-diagram natic viewin plan oi". a I 10" stone, which tensioned a strand timothy strandtensioning apparatus constructed; in acams-1;;

but in' side elevation and p I i is a, section on theline 1-4 of Fig. 3."

In the apparatus whose essentials are diagrammatically presented in Fig. 1, a strand it is being advanced from left to right, from some supply known.- It appears to depend upon certain unknown factors connected with the microphysical character and properties 01' the irlctionally engaged surfaces. It is believed to be well known that, at least where relatively light frictional ensagements are in question, theiriction due to constant pressure will vary with atmospheric conditions, particularly with temperature and,

humidity in a less rather than more predictable fashion. v As noted above, such variations are negligible in many instances. However, there are cases, especially in the manufacture of certain types of electrical equipment, where the tension control of strands must be more normally constant than is possible with any known device opcrating by frictional means.

An object of the present invention'is to provide a method of and an apparatus for imposing tension upon a longitudinally moving strand, in which the tension is accurately controllable to an unusual degree because it does not originate in any frictional eflfect or device.

With the above and other objects in view, the

material.

'the rollers II and I5, and

at the left not shown, by suitable advancing 'means'at the right not shown. The strand it in this case is electrically conductive, and, or simplicity. may be=thought of as a bare copper wire. This strand or copper wire passes first between two pairs of mutually transverse rollers, ll, [2 and I3, H. The roll II is or metal. The other three rollers, i1, i3 and I4, may be of any suitable Atthe exit end of the apparatus at the right, the strand or wire passes between a metal roller I! and another roller l t of any suitable material. These pairsv oi rollersare not per seessential to the invention. They provide a hired point'oi departure for the strand from between the rollers II. and; it and a vertically limited exit between the rollers I! and p i8. Furthermore, the metal rollers l l and is form electrodes through which an electric current, introduced. through brushes i'i and It respectively from some suitable source such as a generator 2 I, may traverse the portion ofthe strand between be controlled by a rheostat I2. 1 v Along the path of the strand between the'departure point and exitpoint and oneach side of the path is one of two pluralities of magnets 20 disposed and arrangedas shown, to create a succession of magnetic fields whose lines of mm tic force run across the path; of the strand and whose f directions alternate in successive fields. These magnets may be electromagnets as illustrated, or may be permanent magnets qt suitable power, if

1 desired. '1! they are electromagnets, as shown,

they will be electrically energized from some suitable source, such as the D. C. generator 2 I.

So long as the switch It is open, the strand is unaflected in its passage through the apparatus.

I, .under the pull oi themeans which caus'ellj itto'advan'ce. y g

[features of the invention" v will appear from the following tion'of embodiments thereontake'nin, connection with the drawing in whiclithe v .same reference numerals are applied to. identical 858 st les similar to Fig. 1 of another. em

When the switch 23 is closed, a constant current passes through the strand It in the sense indicated by the plus and minus signs on the brushes. At the same time the electromagnets 20 are energized, and it will be assumed that they are so wound as to exhibit N and S poles as indicated on the drawing. The eifect of the alternatingly directed magnetic fields on the current carrying wire l then tends to cause the wire to assume the shape shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and thus resists the forward progress of the wire. The intensity of this eil'ect is adJustable by means of the rheostat 22. i

The arrangement above described is applicable only to electrically conductive strands. Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate another arrangement whose operation does not depend upon the nature or material of the strand. In this arrangement there is on each side of the advancing strand a series of nozzles 30 directed transverse to the direction of advance of the strand. The nozzles 30 are fed by risers 3| mounted on manifolds I2 supplied with fluid under pressure through a valve u from some source not shown. The nozzles of the series on one side of the strand llil are staggered in position relatively tothose on the other side. The fluid Jetted transversely against the strand from the nozzles 30 may be a as, e. 8. air, or a liquid, e. g. water. As before, the edflect is to tend to make the strand follow a sinuous path. deflect-' ing alternately to one side and the other of the normal path portion predetermined by the points of departure and of exit, and thus to resist the advance of the strand. In either case, between the point of departure at the rollers ll, l4 and the point of exit at the rollers It, It, neither the strand Ill nor the strand H0 touches any solid thing. The resistance to advance of the strand is effected by non-frictional means acting to cause the strand to depart sinuously from its normal path.

In the case of the electrically actuated arrangement of Figs. 1 and 2, this has been de-- scribed as employing direct current. Apart from the heating of the magnets occasioned by alterhating current, the arrangement will work equally with such current, since each reversal of the magnetic fields is accompanied by a simultaneous reversal of the current in the wire ll. However, if permanent magnets are employed, direct current only is applicable.

It was pointed out above that in neither of the embodiments disclosed and described, does the strand being tensioned touch any solid element, whether to slide over a stationary shoe, brake or the like or to run over and drive or be driven by any roll, sheave or the like, which could in any way" aifect or modify the tensioning occasioned by the electrical fields in the one case or the air jets in the other at any point of the portion of the path of the strand where the tensioning is effected.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus to impose tension on a longitudinally advancing strand, the said apparatus comprising means to guide a longitudinally advancing strand to pass through a predetermined normal path portion, and means beside the path portion and spaced therefrom to exert a transverse force upon the strand to cause the strand to be displaced sinuously from the path portion, the said last mentioned means acting upon the strand without contact of any solid member of the last mentioned means with the strand.

2. An apparatus to impose tension on a longitudinally advancing strand, the said apparatus comprising means to guide a longitudinally advancing strand to pass through a predetermined normal path portion, and means at spaced points along the said path portion and beside the same and spaced therefrom to exert a transverse force upon the strand to cause the strand to be displaced sinuously from the path portion, the said last mentioned means acting upon the strand without contact of any solid member of the last mentioned means with the strand.

3. An apparatus to impose tension on a longitudinally advancing strand, the said apparatus comprising means to guide a longitudinally advancing strand to pass through a predetermined normal path portion, and alternately oppositely directed means means at spaced points along the said path portion and beside the same and spaced therefrom to exert a transverse force upon the strand to cause the strand to be displaced sinuously from the path portion, the said last mentioned means acting upon the strand without contact of any solid member of the last mentioned means with the strand.

4. An apparatus to impose tension on a longitudinally advancing strand, the said apparatus comprising means to guide a longitudinally advancing strand to pass through a predetermined normal path portion, and alternately ppofiltely directed fluid jets transverse to the said path portion at spaced intervals along the same and spaced therefrom to exert transverse force upon the strand without contact of the strand with the nozzles of the Jets to cause the strand to tend to depart sinuously from the said path portion.

5. An apparatus to impose tension on a longitudinally advancing strand, the said apparatus comprising means to guide a longitudinally advancing strand to pass through a predetermined normal Path portion, and means beside the path portion and spaced therefrom to exert a transverse force upon the strand to cause the strand to be displaced sinuously from the path portion, the said last mentioned means acting upon the strand without contact of any solid member of the last mentioned means with the strand. in combination with means to adiustably vary the effectiveness of the said last mentioned means 6. An apparatus to impose tension on a longitudinally advancing strand, the said apparatus comprising means to guide a longitudinally advancing strand to pass through a predetermined normal path portion, and means at spaced points along the said path portion and beside the same and spaced therefrom to exert a transverse force upon the strand to cause the strand to be displaced sinuously from the path portion, the said last mentioned means acting upon the strand without contact of any solid member of the last mentioned means with the strand, in combination with means to adiustably vary the eifectiveness of the said last mentioned means.

7. An apparatus to impose tension on a longitudinally advancing strand, the said apparatus comprising means to guide a longitudinally advancing strand to pass through a predetermined normal path portion, and alternately oppositely directed means at spaced points along the said path portion and beside the same and spaced therefrom to exert a transverse force upon the strand to cause the strand to be displaced sinuously from the path portion, the said last mentioned means acting upon the strand without contact of any solid member of the last mentioned means with the strand, in combination with magnetic means acting upon the strand without the strand without contact of the strand with the nozzles of the jets to cause the strand to tend to depart sinuously from the saidpath portion, in

combination with means to adjustably vary the effectiveness of the said last mentioned means.

9. An apparatus to impose tension on a longitudinally advancing electrically conductive strand, the said apparatus comprising means to guide a longitudinally advancing strand to pass through a predetermined normal. path portion, means to pass an electric current through the part oi! the strand in the said path portion, and magnetic means beside the path portion and spaced therefrom to exert a transverse force upon the strand to cause the strand to be displaced sinuously from the path portion, the said magnetic means acting upon the strand without contact of any solid member of the magnetic means with the strand.

10. An apparatus to impose tension on a longitudinally advancing electrically conductive strand, the said apparatus comprising means to guide a longitudinally advancing strand to pass through a predetermined normal path portion, means to pass an electric current through the part of the strand in the said path portion, and magnetic means at spaced points along the said path portion and beside the same and spaced therefrom to create successively oppositely di-- rected magnetic fields across the said path portion to exert transverse force upon the strand to cause the strand to tend to depart sinuously from the saidpath portion without contact oi any solid member of the magnetic means with the strand.

11. An apparatus to impose tension" on a longitudinally advancing electricall conductive contact of any solid member of the magnetic means with the strand, in combination with means to adjustably vary the efiectiveness of the said last mentioned means.

12. An apparatus to impose tension on a longitudinally advancing electrically conductive strand, the said apparatus comprising means to guide a longitudinally advancing strand to pass through a'predetermined normal path portion, means to pass an electric current through the part of the strand in the said path portion, and

magnetic means at spaced points along the said path portion and beside the same and spaced therefrom to create successively oppositely directed magnetic fields across the said path portion to exert transverse force upon the strand to cause the strand to tend to depart sinuously from the said path portion without contact of any solid member of the magnetic means with 14. The method of imposing tension on 8. Iongitudin-ally advancing strand, which method comprises steps of guiding a longitudinally advancing strand to'pass through a predetermined path portion, and-directing alternately'oppositely directed fluid jets transversely across the strand at spaced points along the said path portion to cause the strand to tend to depart sinuously from the said path portion without contact of the nozzles of the jets with the strand.

15. The method of imposing tension on a longitudinally advancing electrically conductive strand, which method comprises steps of guiding a longitudinally advancing strand to pass through a predetermined path portion, passing an electric current through the part of the strand in the said path portion, and applying alternately oppositely directed magnetic fields transverse to the strand at spaced points along the said path portion to cause the strand to tend to-depart sinuously from the said path portion without contact of any of the field creating magnets with the strand. 

